Annual Report on Official Languages 2022–23

From: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Message from the President of the Treasury Board
Introduction
Chapter 1. Communications with and services to the public
Chapter 2. Language of work
Chapter 3. Federal institutions and the participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians
Chapter 4. Institutions and management of the official languages files
Chapter 5. Official languages and crisis situations
Chapter 6. Official languages and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Conclusion of the report
Appendix A. Methodology for reporting on the status of official languages programs
Appendix B. Federal institutions required to submit a review for the 2022–23 fiscal year
Appendix C. Definitions
Appendix D. Statistical tables
Appendix E. Information on events held by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat during the 2022–23 fiscal year
Appendix F. Distribution of federal offices and service locations as of March 31, 2023

Message from the President of the Treasury Board

**The Honourable Anita Anand**
President of the Treasury Board

As President of the Treasury Board, I am presenting the 35th Annual Report on Official Languages, which provides an overview of how federal institutions have met their official languages obligations during the 2022–23 fiscal year.

During this period, institutions reported on elements pertaining to the application of Parts IV, V, and VI of the Official Languages Act; specifically, communications with and services to the public in both official languages, language of work, human resources management, governance, and monitoring of official languages programs.

This information, as well as statistical data, shows that federal institutions continue to have a strong capacity to provide services to the public and to employees in the official language of their choice. However, it also shows that more needs to be done to improve outcomes in line with the Official Languages Act.

To that end, the Treasury Board Secretariat has released a new Directive for the Implementation of the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations, launched consultations for a new language training framework, supported federal institutions in their official languages responsibilities, and continued to focus on modernizing the Official Languages Act.

Parliament adopted the new Official Languages Act in June 2023, marking the first major revision of the legislation in 35 years. The modernized Act affirms the Government of Canada’s commitment to an inclusive, bilingual society, in which Canadians can flourish in the official language of their choice. It also strengthened the Treasury Board’s official languages authorities, as well as the Board’s duty, and mine, to provide enhanced guidance to federal institutions.

Now, we are working to develop Part VII regulations (“Advancement of Equality of Status and Use of English and French”) to allow federal institutions to strengthen the vitality of official language minority communities, promote the substantive equality of English and French, and work towards the inclusion of language clauses in federal-provincial-territorial agreements. In addition, a new accountability and reporting framework will guide federal institutions in applying the Act and ensuring accountability to Canadians.

I look forward to reporting on these and other activities in our next annual reports.

I invite you to read the report that follows to find out more about our work to better serve Canadians and strengthen Canada’s bilingual identity for the future.

Original signed by

The Honourable Anita Anand, P.C. M.P.
President of the Treasury Board

Introduction

The Treasury Board is responsible for the general direction and coordination of the policies and programs relating to the implementation of Parts IV, V and VI of the Official Languages Act (the Act) in federal institutions. With the changes to the Act passed in June 2023, the Treasury Board is now also responsible for certain aspects of Part VII. This report covers the 2022–23 fiscal year, preceding the modification of the Act.

Within the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer is responsible for developing and assessing the extent to which policies and programs are applied and what results they have produced. In concrete terms, TBS assists some 200 federal institutions that are subject to the Act, including departments and agencies, Crown corporations and privatized entities, in fully meeting their linguistic obligations.

Federal institutions’ obligations under the Act fall into four main categories. Institutions must:

serve and communicate with members of the public in both official languages
establish a bilingual workplace in regions designated bilingual
contribute to maintaining a public service whose workforce tends to reflect Canada’s demographic composition in terms of official languages
ensure that official languages issues are managed appropriately

This 35th annual report examines the extent to which federal institutions have been successful in meeting their obligations. It also provides examples of practices whose widespread adoption would be beneficial.

TBS requires federal institutions to submit an official languages review at least once every three years.^{Footnote 1} Starting next year, reviews will be required once every two years and 30 institutions will submit a review annually.

This year’s report provides a general overview of the results of the reviews submitted by federal institutions for the 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 fiscal years, comparing them, where possible, with those provided in the 2017–20 cycle. Appendix A presents the specific methodology used to analyze the results.

Chapter 1 of this report covers the results for communications with and services to the public; Chapter 2, language of work; Chapter 3, Anglophone and Francophone representation in the federal public service; and Chapter 4, official languages governance. Chapter 5 describes how institutions take official languages into account in crises or emergency situations. Chapter 6 highlights some measures TBS took in 2022–23 to promote overall compliance with the Act.

Chapter 1. Communications with and services to the public

In this section

1.1 Summary

The network of public offices and service locations operated by federal institutions (see Appendix F for a map) spans all provinces and territories and extends to Canadian offices internationally. As of March 31, 2023, this network had 10,976 offices and service locations providing service in person; over the telephone; aboard aircraft, ferries and trains; and through interactive kiosks. Of these, 3,715 (33.8%) were required to provide services to and communicate with the public in both official languages.

TBS’s target is that at least 90% of federal institutions and their offices and service locations will “nearly always” comply with their obligations under the Act and will “nearly always” apply certain best practices (such as ensuring that official languages issues are regularly on the agenda of senior management meetings).

As shown in Table 1, the majority of federal institutions surveyed between 2020 and 2023 “nearly always” met their obligations relating to communications with and service to the public (see definition in Appendix C). This positive result is largely attributable to the fact that federal institutions have the capacity to provide services in both official languages. For example, as of March 31, 2023, 40.7% of the 120,456 incumbents of positions serving the public in the core public administration (49,051 employees) were required to offer services in both English and French. Of these, 95.3% met the language requirements of their position. In other words, they were able to provide service at the desired level to both English and French speakers. In institutions outside the core public administration, 33,292 of the 96,280 positions providing services to the public (34.6%) were bilingual.

Further progress is required to reach the 90% target for each of the questions presented in Table 1. The target has been met for only four of the statements. Although this is a slight improvement over 2017–20 (when the target was met for 3 of the 11 statements) and although 9 of 11 indicators reflect progress over last cycle, this result remains unsatisfactory.

Table 1. Proportion of federal institutions whose designated bilingual offices “nearly always” met their obligations relating to communications with and service to the public
Questions	2017–20	2020–23
Oral communications occur in the official language chosen by the public when the office is designated bilingual.	87%	88%
Written communications occur in the official language chosen by the public when the office is designated bilingual.	89%	95%^{table 1 note *}
All communications material is produced in both official languages and is simultaneously issued in full in both official languages when the material comes from a designated bilingual office.	85%	87%
The English and French versions of websites are simultaneously posted in full and are of equal quality.	91%^{table 1 note *}	94%^{table 1 note *}
Signs identifying the institution’s offices or facilities are in both official languages at all locations.	94%^{table 1 note *}	93%^{table 1 note *}
Appropriate measures are taken to greet the public in person in both official languages.	81%	84%
Appropriate measures are taken to greet the public by telephone, including recorded messages, in both official languages.	n/a	83%
Contracts and agreements with third parties contain clauses setting out the office’s or facility’s linguistic obligations that the third parties must meet.	75%	77%
The linguistic obligations in these clauses have been met.	70%	77%
The institution selects and uses advertising media that reach the targeted public in the most efficient way possible in the official language of their choice.	97%^{table 1 note *}	95%^{table 1 note *}
The institution respects the principle of substantive equality in its communications and services to the public, as well as in the development and assessment of policies and programs.	79%	82%
Table 1 Notes Table 1 Note 1 Target met. Return to table 1 note * referrer

1.2 Oral and written communications

Between 2020 and 2023, 95% of institutions reported that when communicating with the public in writing (particularly through news releases and public notices), they “nearly always” did so in the official language chosen by the public, an increase of six percentage points from the 2017–20 cycle. The obligation that applies to written communications is one of the four with which federal institutions are currently most compliant (the other three concern websites, signage and advertising media).

In terms of oral communications, the results were almost the same as at the end of the last cycle: 88% (87% in 2017–20) said they “nearly always” use both English and French, particularly in news conferences, public addresses and videos.

Best practice

In 2022, Veterans Affairs Canada conducted a national survey of Veterans, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as their survivors, to determine their level of satisfaction with, among other things, the language used in its services and benefits. The survey found that for 95% of Veterans, institutions served them and communicated with them in the official language of their choice. In March 2022, the department’s Service Delivery Branch developed training materials on notetaking for client files to ensure that notes are written in the client’s official language and respect their language rights, in both oral and written communications.

Best practice

Canada Post has implemented various measures to ensure that communications are in the public’s official language of choice. These measures include twice monthly reminders to the bilingual post office network, telephone audits, quality audits of written communications and surveys of customers of designated bilingual post offices to determine their level of satisfaction with access to services in the official language of their choice. When opportunities for official languages related improvements are identified, the Crown corporation implements the necessary changes through actions such as coaching, process reviews and reminders.

1.3 Active offer

To encourage members of the public to interact with federal institutions in the official language of their choice, institutions must practise active offer. The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages defines active offer as “an open invitation to the public to use...English or French…when communicating with or receiving a service from the federal government. Active offer includes a bilingual greeting, such as “Hello! Bonjour!”, and visual cues, such as signs, that support this invitation.”^{Footnote 2}

The number of federal institutions that apply active offer systematically is still too low. From 2020 to 2023, the reviews showed that only 84% of institutions “nearly always” took appropriate greeting measures (such as saying “Hello! Bonjour!”) to signal to people who visit their offices that they can feel comfortable using English or French. This is a slight increase (three percentage points) over the previous review. When it comes to active offer in telephone service, only 83% of institutions surveyed over the past three years say they “nearly always” practise active offer on the telephone. In terms of active offer in person, 93% of institutions nearly always have English and French signage displayed in public view in their designated bilingual offices or have employees in these offices wear “English/Français” pins.

A survey by the Institute for Citizen‑Centred Service^{Footnote 3} found that 87% of Canadians polled agreed with the following statement: “I was able to access the service in my choice of English or French” (67% said they “strongly agreed” with this statement, and 21% “agreed”). 3% of respondents said they “strongly disagree” and 1% “disagree.” According to the survey, receiving service in the language of one’s choice is the most important consideration for federal government clients, regardless of the method of service delivery (in person, on the telephone or through a website). In fact, Canadians think it is more important to be served in the language of their choice (especially when they have a problem to solve) than it is to deal with a competent employee or to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

Best practice

In connection with the project to construct a rail bypass around the municipality’s downtown core following the 2013 train derailment, Transport Canada (TC) is maintaining a register of stakeholders and their preferred official language for the community of Lac‑Mégantic, Quebec. The register has enabled TC to determine that some residents of this predominantly French‑speaking community prefer to be communicated with in English. The department’s major projects team made French‑to‑English interpreters available to participants at the in‑person information sessions held in Lac‑Mégantic and at the various virtual public sessions so that participants could communicate and receive answers in the official language of their choice.

1.4 Outreach and advertising

To meet the needs of the public, federal institutions must ensure that the information they disseminate (on websites or in electronic or paper publications) is accessible in both official languages.

The websites of federal institutions generally meet this requirement. In the 2020–23 cycle, 94% of institutions reported that, with rare exceptions, the English and French content on their website is posted simultaneously, is of equal quality, and is published in full in both languages. This is three percentage points higher than in the 2017–20 cycle.

To reach citizens who prefer more traditional means of communication than the Internet, federal institutions must continue to use English and French in other communication tools such as reports and brochures. In their most recent reviews, 87% of institutions stated that communications materials issued by their designated bilingual offices are “nearly always” produced and disseminated simultaneously and in full in both English and French. This percentage was the same in the previous cycle.

The use of suitable advertising vehicles is an area where federal institutions are doing well. When it comes to advertising, over 95% of the large institutions surveyed said they “nearly always” choose and use advertising vehicles (such as newspapers, television and radio stations or social media) that enable them to reach their target audience in the official language of their choice. This percentage is a slight decrease from the previous cycle (97%).

Best practice

All National Research Council Canada information materials produced for the Canadian public (for example, brochures, pamphlets and information kits) are printed in a bilingual version, or separately in English and French. Translation deadlines are always included in production schedules to ensure that English and French versions are published simultaneously. The Council also ensures that both versions of published documents are identical (for example, same font size, and same use and placement of graphics).

1.5 Contracts and agreements with third parties

The Act stipulates that federal institutions are responsible for ensuring that any partner organization providing information or services to members of the public on their behalf respects their language preferences. Results indicate that many institutions are not always meeting this obligation.

First, only 77% of large institutions ensure that contracts and agreements with third parties where the third parties act on behalf of the institutions “nearly always” include clauses that set out the language obligations these third parties must meet when offering services. This is slightly better than in 2017–20 (75%). Second, 77% of large institutions that have language clauses in their contracts or agreements with third parties report that these clauses were “nearly always” adhered to. Although this result is a jump of seven percentage points from 2017–20, it still falls well short of the target.

Best practice

All Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) contracts for professional services include an official languages clause. The contract request summary contains a mandatory section specifying the language in which the work will be performed, as well as the language in which deliverables and progress reports (if any) will be submitted. The project manager is responsible for ensuring that the language obligations set out in the contract are met. In addition, all public opinion research contracts awarded by ISED contain provisions that stress the need to conduct the study in both official languages.

Best practice

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has included a standard clause on language requirements in its contracts with third parties to provide a public service on its behalf. This clause is part of GAC’s pre‑award requirements:

Certification of Language: By submitting a bid, the Bidder certifies that, should it be awarded a contract as a result of the bid solicitation, every individual proposed in its bid will be fluent in (English, French, or English and French, to be specified). The individual(s) proposed must be able to communicate orally and in writing in (English, French, or both, to be specified) without any assistance and with minimal errors.

1.6 Upholding the principle of substantive equality

According to the principle of substantive equality, official language minority communities have the right to receive government services of the same quality as those offered to the majority. To meet this objective, federal institutions are expected to adapt their practices (for example, by changing their mode of delivery or by offering separate content) to reflect the specific needs and characteristics of minority communities.

The reviews from 2020 to 2023 reveal that only 82% of federal institutions “nearly always” uphold the principle of substantive equality when communicating with or providing services to the public. This a slight improvement from the 2017–20 result (79%).

Best practice

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ensures the substantive equality of English and French by applying a purely Francophone lens when developing its French‑language immigration programs and policies. For example, the department created the Francophone Mobility stream to reflect the specific circumstances of French‑speaking minority communities. This stream enables French‑speaking temporary foreign workers to hold managerial, professional and technical occupations outside Quebec without their employer having to have a labour market impact assessment done. IRCC also applies a Francophone lens to its efforts to attract foreign students. For example, it collaborates with the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne and participates in various departmental working groups on Francophone immigration. It also made changes to the International Student Program to include an objective specifically aimed at making it easier for French‑speaking students to study in French outside Quebec.

1.7 Conclusion

A large majority of federal institutions indicate that they “nearly always” comply with their obligations under Part IV of the Act or embrace certain best practices in communicating with and serving the public. However, the 90% compliance target has been reached for only 4 out of 11 requirements. Nearly one‑quarter of federal institutions do not include language clauses in their agreements with third parties, or do not ensure compliance with such clauses. Similarly, almost one institution in six is lagging in applying certain key practices, such as those relating to active offer and the application of the principle of substantive equality.

Chapter 2. Language of work

In this section

2.1 Summary

Part V of the Act sets out obligations with regard to language of work. It stipulates that federal public service employees have the right to use either English or French in their work in designated bilingual regions. It aims to foster the full recognition of both official languages in the federal public service.

The results from the 2020–23 reviews show that employees still struggle to exercise their language rights. As shown in Table 2, the 90% target has not been reached for any of the obligations set out in the Act with respect to language of work. In fact, the results for most questions have slipped from the previous cycle. For example, only 61% of federal institutions surveyed indicate they “nearly always” allow their employees to draft documents in the official language of their choice (compared with 63% in the previous cycle) or almost always ensure that their management communicates regularly with their staff in English and French (a significant drop of 10 percentage points from 2017–20) in designated bilingual regions. In addition, less than half of institutions “nearly always” conduct bilingual meetings (49%). This percentage, unchanged since last year, is still far too low.

These results do not appear to stem from a lack of language proficiency. Over 95% of public servants who must offer personal and central services in both English and French, and over 96% of those in bilingual supervisory positions in the core public administration, meet the language requirements of their position.

Table 2. Proportion of federal institutions that report “nearly always” complying with their obligations with respect to language of work
Questions	2017–20	2020–23
In regions designated bilingual for language of work
It is possible for employees to write documents in their official language of choice.	63%	61%
Meetings are conducted in both official languages, and employees may use the official language of their choice.	49%	49%
Incumbents of bilingual or either/or positions are supervised in the official language of their choice.	73%	78%
Personal and central services are provided to employees in the official language of their choice.	88%	84%
The institution offers employees training in the official language of their choice.	79%	76%
Documentation and regularly and widely used work instruments and electronic systems are available to employees in the official language of their choice.	81%	79%
In regions designated unilingual for language of work
Documentation and regularly and widely used work instruments and electronic systems are available in both official languages for employees who are responsible for providing bilingual services to the public or to employees in bilingual regions.	87%	81%
In all regions
Senior management communicates with employees on a regular basis in both official languages.	71%	61%

2.2 Language of written communication

Written communication is one of the key areas of Part V of the Act that will require special attention. Less than two thirds (61%) of institutions surveyed in 2020–23 said their employees in regions designated bilingual for language‑of‑work purposes “nearly always” have the opportunity to draft documents in the official language of their choice.

Best practice

Employment and Social Development Canada is one of the federal institutions that “nearly always” allows its employees to draft documents in the language of their choice. Most of its branches have mechanisms in place to provide employees with rapid access to translation services. The department’s Language Revision Unit in the Atlantic Region enables employees to write in the language of their choice by making sure their documents are translated promptly in both official languages. Senior management has commended the unit for its work.

2.3 Language of meetings

More effort is required to achieve the targets set for language of meetings, with only 49% of institutions reporting that meetings in regions designated bilingual are “nearly always” conducted in both official languages. This low percentage, which is the same as for the 2017–20 cycle, demonstrates the need for leadership to ensure that both languages are used in meetings in federal institutions.

Best practice

At Public Services and Procurement Canada, senior management leads by example, opening meetings by reminding participants that they can speak in the language of their choice or alternate between the two official languages. Interpretation services are available when required, particularly for key meetings and events.

Best practice

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada encourages bilingual meetings and makes every effort to ensure that employees feel comfortable using either English or French. Previous results from the Public Service Employee Survey were one of the reasons for launching an initiative to hold regular bilingual bilateral and all‑staff meetings. Employees have access to translation tools in MS Teams (automatic translation of messages in the chat and of subtitles and transcripts during teleconferencing), and organizers use backgrounds to promote the use of both official languages. The department uses other tools to promote bilingualism at meetings, including the guide Effective Practices for Chairing Bilingual Meetings, which was produced by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.

2.4 Language of employee supervision

Incumbents of bilingual and either/or positions are entitled to be supervised in the official language of their choice in regions designated bilingual. In the 2020–23 cycle, only 78% of institutions indicated that they “nearly always” respected this obligation, but this result is still an improvement from the previous cycle (73%).

While almost all incumbents of bilingual supervisory positions in the core public administration (95.8%) meet the language requirements of their position,^{Footnote 4} only 78.2% of managers who are required to be bilingual in institutions that are not part of the core public administration and that have offices in regions designated bilingual for language‑of‑work purposes are actually able to perform their supervisory functions in both official languages.

Results from the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey^{Footnote 5} are more encouraging (Graph 1). According to the survey, which covers the core public administration and separate agencies, 94% of public servants feel comfortable communicating with their immediate supervisor in the official language of their choice. However, Francophone respondents in Ontario feel much less comfortable than their colleagues in other regions using the language of their choice at work. In Northern Ontario in particular, 82% of respondents said they feel free to communicate with their immediate supervisor in the official language of their choice, with 10% of respondents providing a negative answer to this question.

Figure 3. Text version below — Graphic 1. Proportion of public servants who say they feel comfortable using the official language of their choice with their immediate supervisor in regions designated bilingual for language of work purposes^{Footnote 6}

2.5 Personal and central services

Under the Act, public servants in regions designated bilingual have the right to receive personal and central services (for example, assistance with their pay or computer network) in the official language of their choice. According to data collected from 2020 to 2023, only 84% of federal institutions “nearly always” provide this opportunity, down four percentage points from the previous cycle.

However, almost all public servants who are required to provide personal and central services in both official languages in the core public administration (95.1%) meet the language requirements of their position. Nearly 72% of employees assigned to personal and central services in the core public administration are required to provide services in both English and French. Outside the core public administration, only 40.7% of employees who provide these services are required to do so in both official languages.

2.6 Training and professional development

In bilingual regions, federal institutions must offer training or professional development services in employees’ official language of choice. According to data for 2020–23, 76% of large institutions surveyed were able to meet this obligation, a three‑percentage‑point decline from the already unsatisfactory 2017–20 result.

Best practice

According to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS’s) Departmental Policy on Official Languages, the organization must provide its employees with access to training and development in the official language of their choice. To comply with this internal policy, TBS’s Learning and Community Development Services have:

conducted all its 2022–23 learning activities in a bilingual format or in each of the two official languages
simultaneously provided participants with all learning materials in both official languages
made an active offer at the start of all learning events they organized
ensured that presenters have the necessary language skills to address participants in both official languages and that bilingual facilitators are available to provide interpretation services as required

2.7 Communicating with staff

In the 2020–23 cycle, only 61% of federal institutions indicated their senior management “nearly always” communicates with employees in both English and French, a significant drop of 10 percentage points from the previous three-year cycle.

The 2022 Public Service Employee Survey results paint a slightly more encouraging picture (Graph 2): 76% of English‑speaking public servants and 75% of French‑speaking public servants say that senior managers in their department or agency use both official languages in their interactions with employees. Nevertheless, this is a drop of four percentage points from the 2020 survey.

Figure 4. Text version below — **Graphic 2. Public servants’ perception of senior managers and their use of both official languages when interacting with employees in regions designated bilingual for language of work purposes**

Best practice

At Correctional Service Canada, senior management positions are designated bilingual, enabling staff to communicate with senior management in the official language of their choice. In direct communications, the employee’s language is used. If the manager does not know the employee’s language, they make an active offer, then use the employee’s language of choice.

Best practice

Employment and Social Development Canada ensures that senior management meets its bilingualism obligations. In regions designated bilingual for language‑of‑work purposes, meetings chaired by senior management are held in both languages. Several tools are available on the department’s intranet to help senior managers chair meetings in a way that gives English and French equal status. Deputy ministers’ town halls are held in both official languages, and employees are encouraged to ask questions in English or French.

2.8 Documentation and working tools

Employees in bilingual regions have the right to access documentation (for example, instruction manuals, procedures, guides and forms) and regularly and widely used work instruments (for example, keyboards) and electronic systems (for example, spreadsheets and word‑processing software) in the official language of their choice. As in the previous cycle, almost four out of five federal institutions (79%) say they “nearly always” uphold this right.

The Act gives the same right to federal employees in unilingual regions who must provide services to the public in English and French or to employees in bilingual regions. According to the reviews, 81% of institutions “nearly always” make it possible for their staff to exercise this right. In the previous cycle, the figure was 87%.

In the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey, 94% of respondents said the equipment and tools they use in their work, including software and other automated tools, are available in the official language of their choice, the same result as in the 2020 survey. Three percent of respondents gave a negative answer to this question.

Figure 5. Text version below — **Graphic 3. Public servants’ perception of the availability of materials and work tools in the official language of their choice in regions designated bilingual for language-of-work purposes**

2.9 Conclusion

Significant shortcomings remain in the implementation of Part V of the Act in 2020–23. In particular, the language of meetings remains a challenge for just over half of institutions. Furthermore, too few employees feel they can exercise their right to prepare documents, participate in meetings or receive training in the official language of their choice. Senior managers must strengthen leadership in this regard and ensure that their interactions with employees respect employees’ preferences and contribute to a bilingual federal public service.

Chapter 3. Federal institutions and the participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians

In this section

3.1 Overall situation

One of the objectives of Part VI of the Act is to give English‑ and French‑speaking Canadians equal opportunities to obtain employment and advancement in federal institutions, while upholding the merit principle in human resources management. Furthermore, under Part VI, federal institutions must ensure that their workforce tends to reflect the composition of the country’s two official language communities (taking into account factors such as their mandate and the location of their offices).

To meet their representation commitments, institutions can take different measures, such as participating in job fairs, maintaining ties with various post‑secondary institutions in English‑ or French‑speaking minority communities, and posting job offers in the media those communities consume.

Figure 6. Text version below — **Graphic 4. Representation of English speakers and French speakers in the federal public service as of March 31, 2023**

According to the reviews, 87% of large federal institutions took steps in the 2020–23 cycle to ensure that the composition of their workforce tended to reflect that of Canada’s population. This rate was 88% at the end of the previous three‑year cycle.

These efforts appear to be yielding results. As Graph 4 shows, as of March 31, 2023, 69.7% of employees in the in the core public administration were Anglophone and 30.3% were Francophone. In federal institutions not part of the core public administration, the rates were 78.5% and 21.2%, respectively. Across all institutions subject to the Act, Anglophones made up 74.8% of the workforce and Francophones, 25.1%. These percentages are in line with those in the 2021 Census of Population, which showed that 75.5% of the population had English as their first official language and 21.4%, French (1.3% of respondents reported both French and English as their first official languages).

3.2 Situation of specific groups

Official language communities are well represented in federal institutions and in their offices in the provinces and territories. That said, some employment equity groups see fewer of their members holding bilingual positions than the federal average.

Currently, 41.4% of employees in the core public administration occupy a bilingual position. The percentage is somewhat lower for some groups—for example, 32.8% of Indigenous people, 35.2% of visible minorities and 40.6% of persons with disabilities hold a bilingual position. Worth noting is the fact that 95.6% of Indigenous people, 94.6% of visible minorities and 94.6% of persons with a disability meet the language requirements of their position.

Best practice

Shared Services Canada (SSC) developed a strategic workforce plan for 2023–26 that includes measures to promote diversity and inclusion, and strategic investments in official languages. Under this plan, the department participated in 30 of the virtual and in‑person job fairs held over the past year by Canada’s English‑ and French‑language post‑secondary institutions. It has also designated 16 senior representatives to work closely with post‑secondary institutions across the country (such as the École de technologie supérieure and McGill University in Quebec) as part of the Post‑Secondary Education Champions Initiative. Of note, in fiscal year 2022–23, SSC recruited six new participants to its IT Apprenticeship Program for Indigenous Peoples.

Best practice

Although primarily located on Canada’s east and west coasts, Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s workforce reflects the composition of Canada’s population quite well. The department uses both English‑ and French‑language media to advertise its job opportunities. All job opportunities are posted in both official languages on the Government of Canada job site. Canada‑wide recruitment campaigns are advertised in both official languages. The Canadian Coast Guard targets official language minority communities and their institutions through its regional recruitment strategy, which draws on cooperation with community media.

3.3 Conclusion

Overall, Canada’s two major language groups are well represented in the composition of the federal public service. Ongoing effort will be important, and best practices will have to be implemented to ensure continuity in this regard.

Chapter 4. Institutions and management of the official languages files

In this section

4.1 Summary

Federal institutions must establish rigorous and enduring official languages management processes to ensure compliance with the Act. This section discusses the measures that institutions have taken in the areas of human resource management, governance and monitoring to create and implement these processes.

According to TBS’s analysis of the reviews, only 3 of the 19 management processes institutions are expected to apply (processes shown in Tables 3, 4 and 5) were “nearly always” implemented by 90% of institutions or more.

Of the 16 processes that are under‑applied, 4 are seriously under-applied. Only about 50% of federal institutions are providing language training to their staff for career advancement or are building a conducive environment for practising the second language after language training. Furthermore, only around 60% put official languages on the agenda of senior management meetings or set specific official languages objectives in performance agreements or in planning instruments, such as action plans.

4.2 Human resources management

Federal institutions must implement effective human resources management practices to build their capacity to provide quality bilingual services to the public and to their employees. Table 3 shows that some challenges remain in this area.

At the end of the 2020–23 review cycle, for example, only 73% of federal institutions considered they “nearly always” had the human resources they needed to meet all their language obligations. This result is virtually unchanged from the previous cycle.

Federal institutions take various measures to ensure that they have staff who can respect the language rights of members of the public and federal employees.

Table 3. Proportion of federal institutions that “nearly always” comply with their obligations related to human resources management or apply some best practices in that area
Questions	2017–20	2020–23
Overall, the institution has the necessary resources to fulfill its linguistic obligations relating to services to the public and language of work.	74%	73%
The language requirements of bilingual positions are established objectively. Linguistic profiles reflect the duties of employees or their work units and take into account the obligations with respect to service to the public and language of work.	85%	83%
The institution objectively reviews the linguistic identification of positions during human resources activities such as staffing, reorganizations or reclassifications.	n/a	96%^{table 3 note *}
Bilingual positions are staffed by candidates who are bilingual upon appointment.	78%	74%
If a person is not bilingual, administrative measures are taken to ensure that the public and employees are offered services in the official language of their choice.	93%^{table 3 note *}	93%^{table 3 note *}
Language training is provided for career advancement.	58%	51%
The institution provides working conditions conducive to the use and development of the second-language skills of employees returning from language training and, to that end, gives employees all reasonable assistance to do so, particularly by ensuring that they have access to the tools necessary for learning retention.	68%	54%
Table 3 Notes Table 3 Note 1 Target met. Return to table 3 note * referrer

Objectively determining the language requirements of bilingual positions is an important step in ensuring that Canadians receive adequate service in both English and French. Ultimately, it ensures that a person is comfortable enough in both official languages to work in a job where a particular level of proficiency in English and French is required (reading comprehension, writing, oral interaction) for certain tasks. Table 3 shows that 83% of institutions, slightly lower than in the previous cycle (85%), claim to “nearly always” adopt this measure. Similarly, 96% of institutions say they “nearly always” review how a position has been designated during staffing, reclassification or reorganization.

Best practice

This year, Shared Services Canada’s Official Languages team launched a new analysis grid for the linguistic identification of positions. This improved version features an integrated approval system, as well as pre‑established linguistic profiles for the most common groups and levels. The delegated manager is expected to complete and submit the analysis grid in various cases (for example, when creating a position or before initiating a staffing action in a work unit where a reorganization or a change in reporting structure has taken place). The Official Languages team is notified when the manager decides not to apply the results of the analysis grid.

Best practice

Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC’s) Official Languages Program and Classification Unit recommends that departmental managers use The linguistic profile at your fingertips tool developed by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat when they need to objectively determine the linguistic profile of a bilingual position. GAC also has a language requirements form for positions. This form now includes definitions of language requirements and levels of delegation, which helps managers properly define the language requirements of positions.

Another important human resources management practice is making sure candidates selected for designated bilingual positions meet the language requirements of the position at the time of hiring. An examination of the reviews submitted between 2020 and 2023 shows that 74% of institutions (4 percentage points less than in 2017–20) nearly always recruit individuals who are already bilingual at the expected level when they are appointed to a position. As in the previous cycle, in 2020–23, 93% of institutions surveyed say they take specific administrative measures when the person assigned to a position does not have the required level of bilingualism to ensure equal quality of services offered to the public and to employees in both English and French at all times.

From 2020 to 2023, only half of federal institutions reported “nearly always” ensuring that English or French language training was offered to employees for career advancement. Furthermore, just over half of all institutions (54%) reported that they “nearly always” provide staff with working conditions and tools (for example, software for second‑language writing) that encourage language retention, a drop of 14 percentage points from the previous cycle.

As indicated in Chapter 6, TBS is continuing its efforts to create a new language training framework that will help institutions overcome shortcomings in this area.

Best practice

Employment and Social Development Canada’s College@EDSC organizes second‑language conversation groups. This initiative is aimed at learners in positions requiring a B or C level in oral interaction. Some branches in the department have also launched in‑house initiatives, such as lunch‑and‑learn sessions. Lastly, the institution is promoting the new Mauril English and French learning platform and the Canada School of Public Service’s learning tools.

4.3 Governance of official languages

Deputy heads remain responsible for meeting their institution’s legislative obligations with respect to official languages. To assist them, the Policy on Official Languages requires the establishment of an official languages governance structure in each institution. Depending on the size and mandate of an institution, this governance could involve having a senior manager serve as official languages champion, appointing a person responsible for official languages, and creating a unit dedicated to the advancement of official languages in the institution. Table 4 lists some of these mechanisms and shows that, while four of five indicators have improved since the last cycle, considerable work is still required to strengthen official languages governance in federal institutions.

For example, less than two thirds of institutions currently have a separate official languages action plan or have incorporated into another planning instrument (such as their strategic plan) specific and comprehensive objectives for the parts of the Act relating to communications with and services to the public (Part IV), language of work (Part V), the participation of English‑speaking and French‑speaking Canadians (Part VI) or the advancement of English and French (Part VII). Planning is a crucial step that enables institutions to support accountabilities, set objectives and equip themselves with the means to achieve them.

Best practice

Shared Services Canada’s Departmental Action Plan for Official Languages 2022–25 contains a series of commitments and activities that aim to improve the department’s overall compliance with the Official Languages Act and its related regulations and policy instruments. The plan aligns with the institution’s corporate strategies and priorities and focuses on its capacity to offer bilingual services to its employees and to its 45 client departments. It includes a number of indicators from the Official Languages Maturity Model, developed by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages to provide a roadmap for the continuous improvement of departmental bilingualism practices.

One important way of encouraging federal executives and managers to show leadership in complying with the Act is to add to performance agreements clear official languages objectives that management and staff must meet. Only 62% of federal institutions (just two percentage points higher than in 2017–20) “regularly” ensure that such objectives relating to the implementation of Parts IV through VII of the Act are included.

Best practice

For fiscal year 2022–23, performance agreements for Employment and Social Development Canada executives holding bilingual positions included the following commitment: “I will demonstrate my language skills using both official languages often and identify concrete measures to increase the use of both official languages within my team.”

It is also important to “regularly” include official languages on the agenda of executive committee meetings. This practice ensures that they receive the necessary attention at all levels of an institution. The results of the 2020–23 cycle show that 59% of large institutions apply this type of measure, four percentage points higher than in the 2017–20 cycle.

Best practice

The Executive Committee at Marine Atlantic Inc. includes an official languages item on the agenda at each of its meetings. Before each meeting, the persons responsible for official languages discuss the issues to be addressed. Topics are presented to management for discussion and follow‑up.

Other official languages coordinating bodies also play a role. The reviews show that in 76% of large institutions (seven percentage points below 2017–20), the Champion (or Co‑Champion), the persons responsible for Parts IV, V and VI, and the coordinators for section 41 of Part VII of the Act meet “regularly” to discuss official languages issues. Reviews from the 2020–23 cycle reflect that 75% of institutions (71% in the previous cycle) have an internal committee or network that meets frequently to help them fulfill their official language obligations and responsibilities effectively.

Best practice

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Atlantic Region created an Official Languages Working Group in April 2019. This working group was expanded in 2022–23 to include representatives from all regional and area offices. The group meets every eight weeks to discuss official languages updates and to plan and implement activities. The working group regularly revises an official languages work plan that guides the department in taking measures to enhance the vitality of official language minority communities and to foster the full recognition of English and French in Canadian society.

Table 4. Proportion of federal institutions that “regularly” apply some best practices related to governance
Questions	2017–20	2020–23
The institution has a distinct official languages action plan or has integrated precise and complete objectives in another planning instrument in order to ensure that its obligations with regard to Parts IV, V, VI and/or VII of the Official Languages Act are met.	57%	62%
Taking into consideration the institution’s size and mandate, performance agreements include performance objectives related to Parts IV, V, VI and VII (section 41) of the Act, as appropriate.	60%	62%
Obligations arising from Parts IV, V, VI and VII (section 41) of the Act are on the Senior Management Committee’s agenda.	55%	59%
The Champion (and/or Co-Champion) and the person or persons responsible for Parts IV, V, VI and VII (section 41) of the Act meet to discuss official languages files.	83%	76%
An official languages committee, network or working group made up of representatives from different sectors or regions of your institution holds meetings to deal horizontally with questions related to Parts IV, V, VI and VII (section 41) of the Act.	71%	75%

4.4 Monitoring

Establishing monitoring mechanisms enables federal institutions to track their progress on official languages. These mechanisms enable them not only to report on their actions, but also to take corrective action where necessary and reinforce successful practices. While some monitoring practices are well established in institutions, others are not sufficiently ingrained.

Table 5. Proportion of federal institutions that apply some best practices related to monitoring
Questions	2017–20	2020–23
Measures are regularly taken to ensure that employees are well aware of the federal government’s obligations under Parts IV, V, VI, and VII (section 41) of the Act.	87%	89%
Activities are conducted throughout the year to measure the availability and quality of services offered in both official languages (Part IV).	73%	67%
Activities are conducted to periodically measure whether employees can use their official language of choice in the workplace (in regions designated bilingual for language of work) (Part V).	80%	77%
The deputy head is informed of the results of monitoring activities.	89%	89%
Mechanisms are in place to determine and document the impact of the institution’s decisions on the implementation of Parts IV, V, VI, and VII (section 41) of the Act (such as adopting or reviewing a policy, creating or abolishing a program, or establishing or closing a service location).	69%	68%
Audit or evaluation activities are undertaken, by either the internal audit unit or other units, to evaluate to what extent official languages requirements are being implemented.	61%	52%
When the institution’s monitoring activities or mechanisms reveal shortcomings or deficiencies, steps are taken and documented to quickly improve or rectify the situation.	96%^{Table 5 note *}	95%^{Table 5 note *}
Table 5 Notes Table 5 Note 1 Target met. Return to Table 5 note * referrer

As shown in Table 5, according to the reviews for the last two cycles 89% of federal institutions have measures in place to keep the deputy head, who is responsible for implementing official languages policies, informed of any issues. From 2020 to 2023, 95% of institutions also ensured that prompt corrective action was taken when shortcomings were identified through the monitoring mechanisms in place.

However, the reviews also show that many institutions are still slow to adopt some monitoring practices. Specifically, only 67% of federal institutions conduct activities (for example, informal evaluations, spot checks and surveys) to measure the availability and quality of the services they offer to the public in English and in French, and only 77% say they use them to measure whether employees can use the official language of their choice at work. Both these figures are slightly lower than in the previous cycle.

Best practice

In 2022, Canada Post conducted a new language‑of‑work survey among staff based in bilingual regions to support initiatives to create an inclusive and respectful workplace. The goal was to find out the extent to which these employees feel their work environment fosters the use of both official languages and to gain a better understanding of the culture surrounding bilingualism. The results of this survey will be used to identify existing obstacles and develop suitable support measures in 2023–24.

Best practice

At the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat, all employee exit interviews include a question on the use of both official languages in the workplace.

Best practice

Transport Canada employees are encouraged to report any potential official languages issues using the Official Languages Feedback Tool. This tool lets employees submit an internal report to the department’s Human Resources Branch when they feel they cannot use the official language of their choice in the workplace. Human resources advisors then investigate any internal complaints and work with the senior manager concerned to rectify the situation.

Best practice

Agriculture and Agri‑Food Canada regularly evaluates and monitors the quality of the services it offers to the public in both official languages. For example, a sample of procurement files is reviewed to ensure that service quality is the same in both languages. The Canadian Agriculture Library spot‑checks its front‑line staff to ensure that members of the public are greeted and served in the official language of their choice.

Similarly, 68% of institutions report having mechanisms (such as completing the checklist for Treasury Board submissions) to evaluate the impact of their decisions on official languages (for example, the decision to review a policy or close an office). Again, the results are down slightly from the previous cycle.

Best practice

In 2008, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada created the Official Languages Filter, a tool for assessing the impact of the department’s programs, policies and services on official language communities. This year, the filter was applied to 26 memoranda to Cabinet and 14 Treasury Board submissions.

In 2020–23, only 52% of institutions, versus 61% in 2017–20, reported using audits or evaluations to measure the level of compliance with official languages obligations.

Best practice

In the past 12 months, Canadian National (CN) hired an external firm to assess its compliance with the Official Languages Act. Following this exercise, CN's human resources department carried out its own internal review of activities and initiatives related to its official languages obligations.

4.5 Conclusion

To manage official languages and ensure compliance with the various parts of the Act, federal institutions have implemented various mechanisms and processes. Nearly 90% of them apply some of the best practices for human resources management, governance and monitoring that support the advancement of English and French. For example, almost all institutions surveyed said they take corrective action when an employee cannot provide services in the public’s official language of choice or when their monitoring activities or mechanisms reveal shortcomings.

However, adoption of some practices is not sufficiently widespread. For example, institutions should offer more language training to their employees for career advancement purposes. They should also conduct audits or evaluations to gain a full understanding of the official languages-related challenges they face. Implementing these practices would address some of the shortcomings noted in the various sections of this report.

Chapter 5. Official languages and crisis situations

In this section

5.1 Institutional measures

Federal institutions have an obligation to comply fully with the provisions of the Act even during crises. As shown in Table 6, most institutions are effective in this area. They also continue to meet their linguistic obligations while adjusting to the changes brought about by the COVID‑19 pandemic, such as hybrid work, where employees are present in the workplace some of the time and work from home at other times.

Table 6. Measures taken by federal institutions to ensure full compliance with the Act in times of crisis
Question	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2020–23
Official languages are included in the institution’s emergency preparedness and crisis management planning.	73%	92%^{Table 6 note *}	89%	83%
Steps were taken to ensure that external communications were in the public’s preferred official language during the COVID-19 pandemic.	100%^{Table 6 note *}	100%^{Table 6 note *}	100%	99%^{Table 6 note *}
Steps were taken to ensure that internal communications were in the employee’s preferred official language during the COVID-19 pandemic.	100%^{Table 6 note *}	100%^{Table 6 note *}	98%	97%^{Table 6 note *}
Table 6 Notes Table 6 Note 1 Target met. Return to Table 6 note * referrer

5.2 Leadership

For institutions that submitted a review in 2022–23, 98% said they had taken steps to ensure compliance with the part of the Act relating to language of work when implementing pandemic‑related measures (97% for the 2020–23 three‑year cycle).

In addition, 100% of the federal institutions surveyed (99% for the last three‑year cycle) said they have taken various measures to ensure compliance with their obligations regarding communications with and services to the public. For example, they published notices and issued alerts in both official languages, held their news conferences in English and French, and assigned more staff to bilingual front‑line services. They also communicated in both languages with equal care, held pandemic‑related meetings in both English and French, and posted bilingual signage in their workplaces.

The pandemic gave some institutions the opportunity to better integrate official languages into their emergency planning and crisis management. At the end of the 2022–23 review cycle, 89% of institutions said they were meeting their obligations in this area. This result is slightly lower than in 2021–22 but is a 16‑percentage-point jump from 2020–21.

Best practice

Shared Services Canada has implemented various measures to ensure that urgent communications are translated promptly. The department developed a protocol for obtaining urgent translations outside working hours, acquired five licences of specialized translation software to translate informal communications quickly, and created a protocol for the rapid revision of translations by bilingual employees.

Best practice

On its intranet site, the Canada Revenue Agency made a toolbox available to its staff, enabling communications to be sent rapidly and simultaneously to all employees in both official languages during an emergency. The toolbox includes standardized bilingual email templates for a variety of situations.

Best practice

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada hired new bilingual employees for its call centres. These new hires mean the department can respond to an increase in demand from Canadian businesses. In addition, the department redirected some Measurement Canada staff to laboratories in bilingual regions to maintain their capacity to answer questions in both official languages.

5.3 Conclusion

As they deal with crisis situations federal institutions are demonstrating their responsiveness and adaptability and are taking the necessary steps to continue to meet their linguistic obligations.

Chapter 6. Official languages and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

In this section

The 2022–23 fiscal year was marked by preparations for:

the coming into force of the amended Official Languages Act
the implementation of the related Part IV Regulations
advancing both official languages objectives and equity, diversity and inclusion objectives
supporting official languages networks across the public service

6.1 Amended Act, new responsibilities

On June 20, 2023, Bill C‑13 (An Act to amend the Official Languages Act, to enact the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act and to make related amendments to other Acts) received royal assent. The amended Act confers new responsibilities on the Treasury Board and its President.

The President of the Treasury Board now exercises an enhanced leadership role within the federal government when it comes to implementing and coordinating the Official Languages Act, and to ensuring its good governance.

The Treasury Board’s authority to monitor federal institutions’ compliance with the obligations set out in Parts IV, V and VI of the Act has been enhanced. It now has new and expanded authority to monitor how institutions are taking positive measures to support the development of official language communities and to consider the inclusion of language clauses in the agreements they sign with provincial or territorial governments.

In addition, the Treasury Board has been mandated to develop regulations on the application of Part VII, after consulting with the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The amended Act also contains new obligations on the use of English and French as languages of work in federal institutions.

One of the new provisions of the Act stipulates that anyone appointed to the position of deputy minister or associate deputy minister or a position of an equivalent rank must, on their appointment, take the language training that is necessary to be able to speak and understand clearly both official languages.

Another provision will require federal institutions to ensure that employees in regions designated bilingual for language‑of‑work purposes are supervised in the official language of their choice, regardless of the linguistic designation of their position. This new measure will come into effect on June 20, 2025, two years after the bill received royal assent.

The amended Act will also have an impact on the process for disposing of surplus federal real property, which will have to be carried out with due regard for the interests of official language minority communities.

In 2022–23, TBS once again helped organize Official Languages Day (formerly Linguistic Duality Day), held on September 8, 2022, with some 1,700 participants. With the collaboration of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions and the Canada School of Public Service, the day focused on the modernization of the Official Languages Act and language dynamics in Canada.

6.2 Expanding public access to federal services

On August 23, 2022, the President of the Treasury Board approved the revised Directive on the Implementation of the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations. The purpose of the Directive is to ensure consistent and coherent implementation of the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations (Regulations), which were amended in 2019.

In 2022–23, important preparatory steps were taken ahead of the launch of the Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise (OLRRE). The OLRRE, which is a legislative requirement, is carried out every 10 years following the release of language data from the decennial census. The purpose of this exercise is to update the linguistic obligations of federal offices and determine which ones must communicate with and provide services to the public in English, in French or in both official languages. TBS coordinates the OLRRE, and federal institutions are required to take the necessary steps to confirm the linguistic designation of their offices, including:

defining the geographical area their offices serve
evaluating demand for services in one or both official languages
consulting with the linguistic minority community

This OLRRE is of particular interest to stakeholders because the Regulations were amended in 2019 to reflect demographic and technological changes, as well as changes in the federal government in general since 1991. It is through this exercise that most of the regulatory changes will be implemented for the first time, which will increase access to bilingual services across Canada.

In December 2022, TBS launched the System for Official Languages Obligations (SOLO), a new web application designed with three key objectives:

help federal institutions apply the Regulations
populate Burolis, the website that informs the public which federal offices provide services in English, in French or in both official languages
coordinate the OLRRE

Using SOLO, TBS coordinated the update of data for some 10,000 federal offices, including addresses, clients served and office functions. This essential preliminary step in the OLRRE process ensures that the provisions of the Regulations are implemented correctly.

For more information on the OLRRE, visit the Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise webpage on the Government of Canada website.

6.3 Reinforcing bilingualism and equity, diversity and inclusion in the public service

In 2022–23, TBS continued to promote linguistic duality in federal workplaces and work to make the public service a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

TBS organized the Best Practices Forum on Official Languages, in collaboration with Canadian Heritage, the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions and the Canada School of Public Service. The forum, which was held from February 6 to 10, 2023, focused on language training in the federal public service. The 1,870 participants had the opportunity to:

learn about best practices for translation and staffing
participate in workshops on the Second Official Language Scholarship Program and CBC/Radio‑Canada’s Mauril application
learn more about measures to promote the career advancement of members of equity‑seeking groups

This year, TBS also forged ahead with developing an inclusive, flexible, accessible and learner‑centred language training framework that will consider the needs of equity‑seeking groups. This framework will promote a culture that fosters bilingualism in the workplace, as well as the regular use of employees’ second official language skills.

To better understand the needs of employees in this area, TBS conducted consultations with key stakeholders and equity‑seeking networks (see Appendix E). Issues discussed included a bilingual culture in the public service, governance, inclusion, learning pathways and second‑language evaluation. The information gathered during these consultations will be used to create tools to promote second official language training, for example, guidelines, an implementation guide and a learning path.

In preparation for a potential increase in minimum language requirements for incumbents of bilingual supervisory positions, TBS also held a series of 14 activities (presentations or consultations) from June 2022 to June 2023, including face‑to‑face meetings and online surveys. Participants in these activities included the following:

members of departmental and Crown corporation advisory committees on official languages
heads of human resources
official languages champions
members of the Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages
the National Joint Committee
members of the Community of Practice of Designated Senior Officials for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
representatives of equity‑seeking groups

These activities helped TBS answer several questions relating to the implementation of the new requirements and their potential impact. In addition, they provided an opportunity to consult with the various stakeholders and to address their concerns.

TBS also held internal consultations in 2022–23 on the implementation of the part of the Act that deals with the equitable participation of the two linguistic communities in institutions subject to the Act. Representatives from the Quebec Community Groups Network and the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation participated in the August 2022 consultations with the persons responsible for official languages.

6.4 Supporting the official languages community of practice

As described in subsection 6.2, the OLRRE is an ambitious and sensitive initiative. Starting in 2019, through various forums and platforms (such as the Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages), TBS began communicating with deputy heads and with the persons responsible for official languages to introduce them to the OLRRE, and to encourage them to consider its potential impact and plan for the resources they will need to implement it. Appendix E includes a list of meetings the that were organized in 2022–23 to share information on the OLRRE.

In November 2022, TBS developed a bilingual training course that provides an overview of the Regulations, the OLRRE and institutions’ obligations regarding the linguistic designation of federal offices that provide services to the public. In all, over 100 persons responsible for official languages took part. A video version of the training was uploaded to YouTube in winter 2023. It is available to institutions subject to the Act, through the new Regulations Toolbox.

From December 2022 to February 2023, TBS also held some 15 training sessions on using SOLO. In total, over 145 persons responsible for official languages in federal institutions participated. These sessions were intended to help them navigate the system and update their office listings.

On February 8, 2023, at the Best Practices Forum on Official Languages, TBS led a workshop on the Regulations and the OLRRE. It also participated in the virtual booths held from February 6 to 10, 2023. In March 2023, a new resource page about the Regulations was launched on the GCwiki site of the Government of Canada’s official languages community of practice. The resources on the page include the Guide for Federal Institutions Regarding the Obligation to Consult or Inform the English or French Linguistic Minority Population, the Best Practices Guide for Measurement of Demand, and other resources relating to the implementation of the Regulations for the exclusive use of institutions subject to the Act. This evergreen page is a one‑stop shop for all the tools needed to understand the Regulations and ensure a successful OLRRE.

6.5 Conclusion

TBS will continue to support the community of official language practitioners and take steps to strengthen bilingualism, diversity and inclusion in the public service. It will focus efforts on supporting institutions in implementing the new Directive on the Implementation of the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations. It will also develop and implement a language training framework that meets the needs of institutions and their employees. This language training framework will support federal institutions in their language training efforts, help them foster bilingualism in the workplace, increase linguistic security, and increase employees’ regular use of their second official language skills.

Conclusion of the report

Federal institutions continue to display a strong capacity to provide services to the public and to employees in the official language of their choice. But although they are generally able to fulfill their official languages obligations on a day‑to‑day basis, they are still not in full compliance with the Official Languages Act.

They need to do better at:

ensuring that contracts and agreements with third parties contain language clauses
consistently making an active offer of services in both official languages
providing employees with the tools they need for linguistic success
maintaining a work environment that is conducive to the use of both official languages

Federal institutions should pursue their efforts, and for some, enhance them to comply with the Act.

The Treasury Board’s leadership on official languages has been strengthened since the modernization of the Official Languages Act in June 2023. It will now be playing a key role in coordinating government‑wide implementation of the Act, as well as ensuring its good governance. TBS already launched some initiatives to help federal institutions in this process.

In line with its new horizontal coordination role, TBS is currently finalizing an accountability framework for official languages. This framework will:

outline the government’s expectations with respect to official languages
set out the roles and responsibilities of federal institutions in implementing official languages activities
articulate the process for dealing with non‑compliance

New regulations for the application of Part VII of the Act will provide guidance to institutions on the positive measures they must take to enhance the vitality of official language minority communities and on how to contribute to the substantive equality of English and French in Canadian society, while also ensuring that language clauses are included in federal–provincial–territorial agreements.

Appendix A. Methodology for reporting on the status of official languages programs

Federal institutions must submit a review on official languages to TBS at least once every three years. The 2022–23 fiscal year marks the third year of the 2020–23 three-year cycle. Sixty-four organizations had to complete a questionnaire on elements pertaining to the application of Parts IV, V and VI of the Act in 2022–23.

Institutions were required to report on the following elements:

communications with and services to the public in both official languages
language of work
human resources management
governance
monitoring of official languages programs

These five elements were evaluated mainly using multiple-choice questions, to reduce the administrative burden on small institutions.

Deputy heads were responsible for ensuring that their institution’s responses were supported by facts and evidence.

Table 1 describes the response scales used in the review for 2022–23.

Table 1. Response scales used in the review on official languages
Response	Scale
Nearly always	In 90% or more of cases
Very often	Between 70% to 89% of cases
Often	Between 50% to 69% of cases
Sometimes	Between 25% to 49% of cases
Almost never	In fewer than 25% of cases
Yes	Completely agree with the statement
No	Completely disagree with the statement
Regularly	With some regularity
Sometimes	From time to time, but not regularly
Almost never	Rarely
N/A	Does not apply to the institution

The previous sections outline the status of official languages programs based on the most recent reviews submitted by the 177 institutions during the 2020–23 cycle. Best practices mentioned in this report were chosen from the 64 institutions that submitted a review this year. The statistical tables in Appendix D of this report outline the results for all federal institutions.

Appendix B. Federal institutions required to submit a review for the 2022–23 fiscal year

In total, 64 federal institutions submitted a review for 2022–23 fiscal year. The distinction between small institutions and large institutions is based on size. Large institutions were requirement to respond to a longer questionnaire. Small institutions have fewer than 500 employees. The lists of federal institutions that submitted a review for the two previous years of the three-year cycle are available in the Appendix B of the Annual Report on Official Languages 2020–21 and the Annual Report on Official Languages 2021–22.

Large institutions

Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Air Canada
Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Post
Canada Revenue Agency
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services
Canadian Heritage
Canadian National Railway
Communications Security Establishment Canada
Correctional Service Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Global Affairs Canada
Health Canada
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Marine Atlantic Inc.
National Defence
Natural Resources Canada
Public Sector Pension Investment Board
Public Services and Procurement Canada
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Shared Services Canada
Transport Canada
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
Veterans Affairs Canada
VIA Rail Canada Inc.

Small institutions

Accessibility Standards Canada
Atlantic Pilotage Authority Canada
Canada Development Investment Corporation
Canada Foundation for Sustainable Development Technology
Canada Science and Technology Museum
Canadian Commercial Corporation
Canadian Dairy Commission
Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat
Canadian Museum of History
Canadian Museum of Nature
Federal Bridge Corporation
Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Indian Oil and Gas Canada
International Development Research Centre
Invest in Canada
Laurentian Pilotage Authority Canada
Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada
Nanaimo Port Authority
National Security and Intelligence Review Agency Secretariat
Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada
Office of the Secretary to the Governor General
Pacific Pilotage Authority Canada
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada
Polar Knowledge Canada
Quebec Port Authority
Saguenay Port Authority
Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians
Standards Council of Canada
The Jacques-Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc.
The National Battlefields Commission
The Seaway International Bridge Corporation
Veterans Review and Appeal Board
Windsor Port Authority

Appendix C. Definitions

“Anglophone”: refers to employees whose first official language is English.
“Bilingual position”: is a position in which all or part of the duties must be performed in both English and French.
“First official language”: is the language declared by the employee as the one that they primarily identify with.
“Francophone”: refers to employees whose first official language is French.
“Incomplete record”: means a position for which data on language requirements is incorrect or missing.
“Position”: means a position filled for an indeterminate period or a determinate period of three months or more, according to the information in the Position and Classification Information System (PCIS).
“Public”: means any person, group of persons (professional associations or others) or organization or company (other than a Crown corporation) in Canada or abroad, any representative of another level of government communicating with or receiving a service from an institution, excluding officers and employees of institutions subject to the Official Languages Act when carrying out their duties.
“Resources”: refers to the resources required to meet obligations on a regular basis, according to the information available in the System for Official Languages Obligations (SOLO). Resources can consist of a combination of full-time and part-time employees, as well as contract resources. Some cases involve automated functions, hence the need to use the term “resources” in this report.
“Reversible” or “either/or position”: is a position in which all the duties can be performed in English or French, depending on the employee’s preference.

Appendix D. Statistical tables

There are four main sources of statistical data:

Burolis is the official inventory that indicates whether offices have an obligation to communicate with the public in both official languages
The Position and Classification Information System (PCIS) covers the names and positions of employees working in institutions that are part of the core public administration
The System for Official Languages Obligations (SOLO) provides information on the resources of institutions that are not part of the core public administration (in other words, Crown corporations and separate agencies)
The Employment Equity Data Bank (EEDB) provides data based on voluntary declarations by employment equity groups and, for women, the Pay System

March 31 is the reference date of the data in the statistical tables and in the data systems (the Pay System, Burolis, the PCIS, SOLO and the EEDB).

Notes

Percentage totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

The data in this report relating to positions in the core public administration are compiled from the PCIS, except for Tables 15 to 18, which also use the EEDB. Because the data related to official languages are based on the PCIS, they do not match those included in the annual report on Employment Equity in the Federal Public Service. The sum of the designated employment groups does not equal the total of all employees because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one group and because employees who identified as male were added to the total.

Pursuant to the Public Service Official Languages Exclusion Approval Order, incumbents may not meet the language requirements of their position for the following reasons:

They are exempted
They have two years to meet the language requirements

The linguistic profile of a bilingual position is based on three levels of second-language proficiency:

Level A: minimum proficiency
Level B: intermediate proficiency
Level C: superior proficiency

Table D1. Text version below — **Table 1. Bilingual positions and pool of bilingual employees in the core public administration as of March 31**

Text version for Table D1
Year	Bilingual positions	Superior proficiency	Intermediate proficiency	Minimum proficiency	Pool of bilingual employees
2000	35%	21%	11%	3%	35%
2010	41%	27%	12%	2%	41%
2020	42%	26%	15%	2%	43%
2021	42%	25%	14%	2%	41%
2022	42%	23%	14%	2%	39%
2023	41%	23%	14%	2%	38%

Table 2. Language requirements of positions in the core public administration as of March 31

Year	Bilingual positions		English essential positions		French essential positions		English or French essential positions		Incomplete records		Total positions
2000	50,535	35.3%	75,552	52.8%	8,355	5.8%	7,132	5.0%	1,478	1.0%	143,052
2010	82,985	41.0%	102,484	50.6%	7,827	3.9%	8,791	4.3%	450	0.2%	202,537
2020	89,632	42.4%	105,062	49.7%	7,191	3.4%	9,334	4.4%	50	0.0%	211,269
2021	94,210	41.9%	112,513	50.0%	8,258	3.7%	9,989	4.4%	34	0.0%	225,004
2022	98,550	41.7%	118,181	50.0%	8,498	3.6%	10,980	4.6%	19	0.0%	236,228
2023	105,547	41.4%	127,550	50.1%	8,997	3.5%	12,663	5.0%	17	0.0%	254,774

Table 3. Language requirements of positions in the core public administration, by province, territory or region as of March 31, 2023

			Unilingual positions
Province, territory or region	Bilingual positions		English essential		French essential		English or French essential		Incomplete records		Total positions
British Columbia	705	3.4%	19,679	95.7%	1	0.0%	179	0.9%	1	0.0%	20,565
Alberta	591	4.7%	11,916	94.7%	0	0.0%	79	0.6%	1	0.0%	12,587
Saskatchewan	140	2.6%	5,163	97.0%	0	0.0%	20	0.4%	1	0.0%	5,324
Manitoba	614	7.6%	7,378	91.4%	1	0.0%	81	1.0%	2	0.0%	8,076
Ontario (excluding the NCR)	2,857	9.3%	27,398	89.4%	25	0.1%	373	1.2%	1	0.0%	30,654
National Capital Region (NCR)	74,617	61.6%	34,948	28.9%	440	0.4%	11,117	9.2%	7	0.0%	121,129
Quebec (excluding the NCR)	18,108	66.8%	321	1.2%	8,295	30.6%	392	1.4%	2	0.0%	27,118
New Brunswick	5,462	52.7%	4,444	42.9%	216	2.1%	245	2.4%	0	0.0%	10,367
Prince Edward Island	583	23.6%	1,861	75.5%	5	0.2%	17	0.7%	0	0.0%	2,466
Nova Scotia	1,116	10.7%	9,237	88.2%	12	0.1%	107	1.0%	1	0.0%	10,473
Newfoundland and Labrador	138	3.2%	4,119	95.6%	2	0.0%	50	1.2%	0	0.0%	4,309
Yukon	25	6.6%	348	92.6%	0	0.0%	2	0.5%	1	0.3%	376
Northwest Territories	12	2.6%	454	97.4%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	466
Nunavut	11	3.7%	282	95.9%	0	0.0%	1	0.3%	0	0.0%	294
Outside Canada	568	99.6%	2	0.4%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	570
Total	105,547	41.4%	127,550	50.1%	8,997	3.5%	12,663	5.0%	17	0.0%	254,774

Table 4. Bilingual positions in the core public administration and linguistic status of incumbents as of March 31

			Incumbents do not meet requirements
Year	Incumbents meet requirements		Exempted		Must meet		Incomplete records		Total employees
2000	41,832	82.8%	5,030	10.0%	968	1.9%	2,705	5.4%	50,535
2010	77,331	93.2%	3,625	4.4%	831	1.0%	1,198	1.4%	82,985
2020	85,676	95.6%	3,297	3.7%	35	0.0%	624	0.7%	89,632
2021	90,893	96.5%	2,297	2.4%	50	0.1%	970	1.0%	94,210
2022	94,476	95.9%	2,740	2.8%	109	0.1%	1,225	1.2%	98,550
2023	100,207	94.9%	3,549	3.4%	159	0.2%	1,632	1.5%	105,547

Table 5. Bilingual positions in the core public administration and level of second-language proficiency required (oral interaction) as of March 31^{table D5 note 1}

Year	Level C		Level B		Level A		Other		Total positions
2000	12,836	25.4%	34,677	68.6%	1,085	2.1%	1,937	3.8%	50,535
2010	26,738	32.2%	53,659	64.7%	724	0.9%	1,864	2.2%	82,985
2020	32,435	36.2%	55,471	61.9%	335	0.4%	1,391	1.6%	89,632
2021	34,964	37.1%	57,648	61.2%	333	0.4%	1,265	1.3%	94,210
2022	37,152	37.7%	59,800	60.7%	317	0.3%	1,281	1.3%	98,550
2023	39,737	37.6%	64,195	60.8%	330	0.3%	1,285	1.2%	105,547
Table D5 Notes Table D5 Note 1 The levels required in second-language proficiency refer only to oral interaction (understanding and speaking). The “Other” category refers to positions that require Code P (specialized proficiency) or that do not require any oral interaction skills in the second language. Return to table D5 note 1 referrer

Table 6. Services to the public: bilingual positions in the core public administration and linguistic status of incumbents as of March 31

			Incumbents do not meet requirements
Year	Incumbents meet requirements		Exempted		Must meet		Incomplete records		Total employees
2000	26,766	82.3%	3,429	10.5%	690	2.1%	1,631	5.0%	32,516
2010	46,413	93.0%	2,217	4.4%	555	1.1%	746	1.5%	49,931
2020	42,839	95.8%	1,468	3.3%	14	0.0%	378	0.8%	44,699
2021	44,405	96.9%	870	1.9%	20	0.0%	535	1.2%	45,830
2022	45,454	96.6%	1,108	2.4%	37	0.1%	458	1.0%	47,057
2023	46,760	95.3%	1,566	3.2%	44	0.1%	681	1.4%	49,051

Table 7. Services to the public: bilingual positions in the core public administration and level of second-language proficiency required (oral interaction) as of March 31^{table D7 note 2}

Year	Level C		Level B		Level A		Other		Total positions
2000	9,088	27.9%	22,421	69.0%	587	1.8%	420	1.3%	32,516
2010	17,645	35.3%	31,780	63.6%	340	0.7%	166	0.3%	49,931
2020	18,599	41.6%	25,872	57.9%	99	0.2%	129	0.3%	44,699
2021	19,261	42.0%	26,402	57.6%	101	0.2%	66	0.1%	45,830
2022	19,838	42.2%	27,038	57.5%	82	0.2%	99	0.2%	47,057
2023	20,713	42.2%	28,188	57.5%	81	0.2%	69	0.1%	49,051
Table D7 Notes Table D7 Note 2 The levels required in second-language proficiency refer only to oral interaction (understanding and speaking). The “Other” category refers to positions that require Code P (specialized proficiency) or that do not require any oral interaction skills in the second language. Return to table D7 note 2 referrer

Table 8. Services to the public: positions in the core public administration and linguistic status of incumbents, by province, territory or region as of March 31, 2023

	Bilingual positions				Unilingual positions
Province, territory or region		Incumbents do not meet requirements			English essential	French essential	English or French essential	Total employees
Province, territory or region	Incumbents meet requirements	Exempted	Must meet	Incomplete records	English essential	French essential	English or French essential	Total employees
Western and Northern Canada	1,102	59	0	55	27,776	1	101	29,094
Ontario (excluding the NCR)	1,324	64	0	74	15,534	10	83	17,089
National Capital Region (NCR)	29,651	894	43	248	11,019	145	2,269	44,269
Quebec (excluding the NCR)	9,950	312	0	257	118	4,200	141	14,978
New Brunswick	3,208	183	0	24	2,571	148	54	6,188
Other Atlantic provinces	1,013	39	1	21	7,182	12	41	8,309
Outside Canada	512	15	0	2	0	0	0	529
All regions	46,760	1,566	44	681	64,200	4,516	2,689	120,456

Table 9. Personal and central services: bilingual positions in the core public administration and linguistic status of incumbents as of March 31

			Incumbents do not meet requirements
Year	Incumbents meet requirements		Exempted		Must meet		Incomplete records		Total employees
2020	61,915	95.5%	2,385	3.7%	18	0.0%	545	0.8%	64,863
2021	66,106	96.4%	1,664	2.4%	16	0.0%	795	1.2%	68,581
2022	68,548	96.0%	1,917	2.7%	31	0.0%	919	1.3%	71,415
2023	72,111	95.1%	2,456	3.2%	46	0.1%	1,223	1.6%	75,836

Table 10. Personal and central services: bilingual positions in the core public administration and level of second-language proficiency required (oral interaction) as of March 31^{table D10 note 3}

Year	Level C		Level B		Level A		Other		Total positions
2020	23,697	36.5%	39,879	61.5%	177	0.3%	1,110	1.7%	64,863
2021	25,467	37.1%	41,930	61.1%	169	0.2%	1,015	1.5%	68,581
2022	26,472	37.1%	43,714	61.2%	167	0.2%	1,062	1.5%	71,415
2023	28,062	37.0%	46,540	61.4%	166	0.2%	1,068	1.4%	75,836
Table D10 Notes Table D10 Note 3 The levels required in second-language proficiency refer only to oral interaction (understanding and speaking). The “Other” category refers to positions that require Code P (specialized proficiency) or that do not require any oral interaction skills in the second language. Return to table D10 note 3 referrer

Table 11. Supervision: bilingual positions in the core public administration and linguistic status of incumbents as of March 31

			Incumbents do not meet requirements
Year	Incumbents meet requirements		Exempted		Must meet		Incomplete records		Total employees
2020	26,089	95.9%	1,005	3.7%	22	0.1%	86	0.3%	27,202
2021	27,691	96.1%	879	3.1%	37	0.1%	204	0.7%	28,811
2022	29,785	95.6%	1,005	3.2%	82	0.3%	277	0.9%	31,149
2023	31,620	95.8%	949	2.9%	120	0.4%	311	0.9%	33,000
Note: This table excludes employees working outside Canada.

Table 12. Supervision: Bilingual positions in the core public administration and level of second language proficiency required (oral interaction) as of March 31^{table D12 note 4}

Year	Level C		Level B		Level A		Other		Total positions
2020	16,502	60.7%	10,604	39.0%	36	0.1%	60	0.2%	27,202
2021	17,852	62.0%	10,890	37.8%	39	0.1%	30	0.1%	28,811
2022	20,141	64.7%	10,936	35.1%	27	0.1%	45	0.1%	31,149
2023	21,618	65.5%	11,319	34.3%	22	0.1%	41	0.1%	33,000
Note: This table excludes employees working outside Canada. Table D12 Notes Table D12 Note 4 The levels required in second-language proficiency refer only to oral interaction (understanding and speaking). The “Other” category refers to positions that require Code P (specialized proficiency) or that do not require any oral interaction skills in the second language. Return to table D12 note 4 referrer

Table 13. Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in the core public administration, by province, territory or region as of March 31, 2023

Province, territory or region	Anglophones		Francophones		Unknown		Total employees
British Columbia	20,126	97.9%	438	2.1%	1	0.0%	20,565
Alberta	12,178	96.8%	408	3.2%	1	0.0%	12,587
Saskatchewan	5,240	98.4%	83	1.6%	1	0.0%	5,324
Manitoba	7,763	96.1%	312	3.9%	1	0.0%	8,076
Ontario (excluding the NCR)	29,125	95.0%	1,528	5.0%	1	0.0%	30,654
National Capital Region (NCR)	76,456	63.1%	44,662	36.9%	11	0.0%	121,129
Quebec (excluding the NCR)	3,403	12.5%	23,714	87.4%	1	0.0%	27,118
New Brunswick	5,597	54.0%	4,770	46.0%	0	0.0%	10,367
Prince Edward Island	2,215	89.8%	251	10.2%	0	0.0%	2,466
Nova Scotia	9,898	94.5%	574	5.5%	1	0.0%	10,473
Newfoundland and Labrador	4,251	98.7%	57	1.3%	1	0.0%	4,309
Yukon	358	95.2%	18	4.8%	0	0.0%	376
Northwest Territories	442	94.8%	24	5.2%	0	0.0%	466
Nunavut	275	93.5%	19	6.5%	0	0.0%	294
Outside Canada	358	62.8%	212	37.2%	0	0.0%	570
All regions	177,685	69.7%	77,070	30.3%	19	0.0%	254,774

Table 14. Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in the core public administration, by occupational category as of March 31, 2023

Categories	Anglophones		Francophones		Unknown		Total employees
Management (EX)	4,516	65.3%	2,401	34.7%	0	0.0%	6,917
Scientific and professional	39,778	77.3%	11,661	22.7%	2	0.0%	51,441
Administration and foreign service	84,343	63.7%	48,050	36.3%	12	0.0%	132,405
Technical	10,995	77.8%	3,139	22.2%	4	0.0%	14,138
Administrative support	14,258	72.6%	5,393	27.4%	1	0.0%	19,652
Operations	23,794	78.7%	6,425	21.3%	0	0.0%	30,219
Unknown	1	50.0%	1	50.0%	0	0.0%	2
All categories	177,685	69.7%	77,070	30.3%	19	0.0%	254,774

Table 15. Language requirements of positions in the core public administration, by employment equity group as of March 31, 2023^{table D15 note 5}

Target groups	Bilingual positions		English essential positions		French essential positions		English or French essential positions		Incomplete records		Total
Women	62,622	44.4%	67,146	47.6%	4,947	3.5%	6,281	4.5%	12	0.0%	141,008
Indigenous People	4,319	32.8%	8,157	61.9%	239	1.8%	457	3.5%	0	0.0%	13,172
Persons with disabilities	6,947	40.6%	8,768	51.2%	383	2.2%	1,021	6.0%	1	0.0%	17,120
Members of visible minorities	19,051	35.2%	29,391	54.3%	1,342	2.5%	4,355	8.0%	1	0.0%	54,140
All employees	105,547	41.4%	127,550	50.1%	8,997	3.5%	12,663	5.0%	17	0.0%	254,774
Table D15 Notes Table D15 Note 5 In this table and the following tables, the columns do not add up because people in the target groups may be in more than one target group, and in the “All employees” row, employees who are not in any of these groups are also counted. Return to table D15 note 5 referrer

Table 16. Bilingual positions in the core public administration and linguistic status of incumbents, by employment equity group as of March 31, 2023

			Incumbents do not meet requirements
Target groups	Incumbents meet requirements		Exempted		Must meet		Incomplete records		Total
Women	59,741	95.4%	1,982	3.2%	75	0.1%	824	1.3%	62,622
Indigenous People	4,130	95.6%	129	3.0%	7	0.2%	53	1.2%	4,319
Persons with disabilities	6,569	94.6%	257	3.7%	16	0.2%	105	1.5%	6,947
Members of visible minorities	18,016	94.6%	699	3.7%	53	0.3%	283	1.5%	19,051
All employees	100,207	94.9%	3,549	3.4%	159	0.2%	1,632	1.5%	105,547

Table 17. Bilingual positions in the core public administration and level of second-language proficiency required (oral interaction), by employment equity group as of March 31, 2023^{table D17 note 6}

Target groups	Level C		Level B		Level A		Other		Total
Women	23,916	38.2%	37,891	60.5%	57	0.1%	758	1.2%	62,622
Indigenous People	1,674	38.8%	2,617	60.6%	13	0.3%	15	0.3%	4,319
Persons with disabilities	2,755	39.7%	4,148	59.7%	7	0.1%	37	0.5%	6,947
Members of visible minorities	6,356	33.4%	12,562	65.9%	28	0.1%	105	0.6%	19,051
All employees	39,737	37.6%	64,195	60.8%	330	0.3%	1,285	1.2%	105,547
Table D17 Notes Table D17 Note 6 The levels required in second-language proficiency refer only to oral interaction (understanding and speaking). The “Other” category refers to positions that require Code P (specialized proficiency) or that do not require any oral interaction skills in the second language. Return to table D17 note 6 referrer

Table 18. Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in the core public administration, by employment equity group as of March 31, 2023

Target groups	Anglophones		Francophones		Unknown		Total
Women	96,951	68.8%	44,049	31.2%	8	0.0%	141,008
Indigenous People	9,935	75.4%	3,237	24.6%	0	0.0%	13,172
Persons with disabilities	12,916	75.4%	4,203	24.6%	1	0.0%	17,120
Members of visible minorities	42,050	77.7%	12,088	22.3%	2	0.0%	54,140
All employees	177,685	69.7%	77,070	30.3%	19	0.0%	254,774

Table 19. Supervision: bilingual positions in institutions not part of the core public administration and capacity as of March 31, 2023

Regions designated bilingual	Number of supervisors who have to be bilingual	Number of those supervisors who can discharge their supervisory functions in both official languages	Percentage
Northern and Eastern Ontario (excluding the NCR)	291	122	42%
National Capital Region (NCR)	9,846	7,718	78%
Region of Montréal	4,238	3,686	87%
Bilingual regions in other parts of Quebec (excluding the NCR)	121	104	86%
New Brunswick	1,509	889	59%
Total	16,005	12,519	78%

Table 20. Internal services: bilingual positions in institutions not part of the core public administration and capacity as of March 31, 2023

Regions designated bilingual	Resources – English only	Resources – French only	Bilingual resources	Total
Northern and Eastern Ontario (excluding the NCR)	455	39	458	952
National Capital Region (NCR)	17,901	2,060	16,280	36,241
Region of Montréal	961	993	5,508	7,462
Bilingual regions in other parts of Quebec (excluding the NCR)	137	167	219	523
New Brunswick	1,274	175	1,668	3,117
From a unilingual region	14,038	954	2,762	17,754
Total	34,766	4,388	26,895	66,049

Table 21. Services to the public: number of resources serving the public in bilingual offices in institutions not part of the core public administration, by province, territory, region or method of delivery as of March 31, 2023^{table D21 note 7}

Province, territory, region or method of delivery	Resources in English only	Resources in French only	Bilingual resources	Total resources
Western and Northern Canada	19,050	42	2,530	21,622
Ontario (excluding the NCR)	8,513	10	1,446	9,969
National Capital Region (NCR)	7,780	742	9,047	17,569
Quebec (excluding the NCR)	180	873	6,631	7,684
New Brunswick	409	24	1,488	1,921
Other Atlantic provinces	2,873	2	656	3,531
Outside Canada	349	0	44	393
Routes	4,263	0	4,132	8,395
Telephone	17,854	24	7,318	25,196
Total	61,271	1,717	33,292	96,280
Table D21 Notes Table D21 Note 7 In this table, Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services grouped all its resources serving the public as being in the National Capital Region. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was unable to provide complete data for this table. Return to table D21 note 7 referrer

Table 22. Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in institutions not part of the core public administration, by province, territory or region as of March 31, 2023

Province, territory or region	Anglophones		Francophones		Unknown		Total resources
British Columbia	41,484	96.5%	1,361	3.2%	124	0.3%	42,969
Alberta	31,720	95.8%	1,369	4.1%	8	0.0%	33,097
Saskatchewan	9,067	96.6%	310	3.3%	9	0.1%	9,386
Manitoba	15,273	94.4%	779	4.8%	134	0.8%	16,186
Ontario (excluding the NCR)	80,611	94.3%	4,724	5.5%	185	0.2%	85,520
National Capital Region (NCR)	40,421	71.4%	15,912	28.1%	271	0.5%	56,604
Quebec (excluding the NCR)	14,951	25.7%	43,253	74.3%	32	0.1%	58,236
New Brunswick	8,239	73.2%	3,013	26.8%	1	0.0%	11,253
Prince Edward Island	2,250	93.4%	158	6.6%	0	0.0%	2,408
Nova Scotia	13,960	93.0%	1,048	7.0%	0	0.0%	15,008
Newfoundland and Labrador	7,204	98.5%	108	1.5%	0	0.0%	7,312
Yukon	428	91.5%	40	8.5%	0	0.0%	468
Northwest Territories	684	88.7%	87	11.3%	0	0.0%	771
Nunavut	349	88.6%	45	11.4%	0	0.0%	394
Outside Canada	2,479	85.8%	410	14.2%	0	0.0%	2,889
Unknown	19	11.4%	139	83.2%	9	5.4%	167
All regions	269,139	78.5%	72,756	21.2%	773	0.2%	342,668

Table 23. Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in institutions not part of the core public administration, by occupational category or equivalent category as of March 31, 2023

Categories	Anglophones		Francophones		Unknown		Total resources
Management	16,689	75.4%	5,378	24.3%	60	0.3%	22,127
Professionals	35,813	75.2%	11,630	24.4%	182	0.4%	47,625
Specialists and technicians	18,490	76.7%	5,398	22.4%	207	0.9%	24,095
Administrative support	47,001	77.6%	13,524	22.3%	54	0.1%	60,579
Operations	88,350	82.5%	18,455	17.2%	256	0.2%	107,061
Canadian Armed Forces and regular members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police	62,808	77.4%	18,364	22.6%	9	0.0%	81,181
All categories	269,151	78.5%	72,749	21.2%	768	0.2%	342,668

Table 24. Participation of Anglophones and Francophones in all federal institutions subject to the Official Languages Act, by province, territory or region as of March 31, 2023

Province, territory or region	Anglophones		Francophones		Unknown		Total
British Columbia	61,610	97.0%	1,799	2.8%	125	0.2%	63,534
Alberta	43,898	96.1%	1,777	3.9%	9	0.0%	45,684
Saskatchewan	14,307	97.3%	393	2.7%	10	0.1%	14,710
Manitoba	23,036	94.9%	1,091	4.5%	135	0.6%	24,262
Ontario (excluding the NCR)	109,736	94.5%	6,252	5.4%	186	0.2%	116,174
National Capital Region (NCR)	116,877	65.8%	60,574	34.1%	282	0.2%	177,733
Quebec (excluding the NCR)	18,354	21.5%	66,967	78.5%	33	0.0%	85,354
New Brunswick	13,836	64.0%	7,783	36.0%	1	0.0%	21,620
Prince Edward Island	4,465	91.6%	409	8.4%	0	0.0%	4,874
Nova Scotia	23,858	93.6%	1,622	6.4%	1	0.0%	25,481
Newfoundland and Labrador	11,455	98.6%	165	1.4%	1	0.0%	11,621
Yukon	786	93.1%	58	6.9%	0	0.0%	844
Northwest Territories	1,126	91.0%	111	9.0%	0	0.0%	1,237
Nunavut	624	90.7%	64	9.3%	0	0.0%	688
Outside Canada	2,837	82.0%	622	18.0%	0	0.0%	3,459
Unknown	19	11.4%	139	83.2%	9	5.4%	167
All regions	446,824	74.8%	149,826	25.1%	792	0.1%	597,442

Appendix E. Information on events held by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat during the 2022–23 fiscal year

Event	Date	Number of participants	Key topics/issues
Meeting of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions	May 26, 2022	Unavailable	Verbal updates Overhaul of second‑language training
Virtual meeting of official languages communities of practice (Departmental Advisory Committee on Official Languages [DACOL] and Crown Corporations Advisory Committee on Official Languages [CCACOL])	June 1, 2022	145	Presentations Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Workshop: Emotions management for linguistic security Verbal updates Modernization of the Official Languages Act System for Official Languages Obligations (SOLO) Directive on the Implementation of the Regulations Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise Champions conference Best practices: Modernization of the Official Languages Act
Meeting of the Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (CADMOL)	June 10, 2022	Unavailable	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Special session: Language requirements for bilingual supervisory positions (with persons responsible for official languages [PROL])	June 22, 2022	148	Language requirements for bilingual supervisory positions
Virtual meeting of official languages communities of practice DACOL and CCACOL	August 31, 2022	118	Presentations Quebec Community Groups Network and Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation: participation of English‑speaking Quebecers in the federal public service Canada Revenue Agency: Best practices for recruiting Anglophones in Quebec Verbal updates Official Languages Day Language training framework CBC language requirements Directive on the Implementation of the Regulations Impact of linguistic data (Census 2021)
Official Languages Day (OLD)	September 8, 2022	1,699 (public servants and the general public)	Theme: A Spotlight on Official Languages and Linguistic Dynamics Based on the modernization of the Official Languages Act
Interdepartmental Official Languages Learning Task Team (IOLLTT)	September 15, 2022	73	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
CADMOL meeting	September 21, 2022	46	Presentation Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Special session: Language requirements for bilingual supervisory positions (with PROL)	September 28, 2022	209	Language requirements for bilingual supervisory positions
Special session with heads of human resources	October 19, 2022	117	Presentation Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Atlantic Leaders in Learning Intergovernmental Community of Practice	October 19, 2022	89	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
National Joint Committee	October 25, 2022	21	Presentation Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Virtual meeting of official languages communities of practice DACOL and CCACOL	October 26, 2022	139	Presentations Language training framework Overview of the Translation Bureau’s linguistic services and tools Verbal updates Annual Report on Official Languages CBC language requirements Training: Introduction to the Regulations Champions conference Best practices forum
Meeting of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions	October 27, 2022	Unavailable	Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Second Official Language Scholarship Program Second‑language training framework (presentation by TBS)
Designated Senior Officials for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DSOEEDI) community of practice	October 31, 2022	Unavailable	Presentation Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Strategic Policy Committee	November 9, 2022	Unavailable	Presentation Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Conference of Official Languages Champions	November 17, 2022	124	Theme: Dare to Act Main topics Official languages governance in federal institutions Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions strategic plan Modernization of the Official Languages Act
Atlantic Region Community of Practice: Language training and Network IV, V and VI members	November 23, 2022	61	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Ontario Official Languages Interdepartmental Network	November 30, 2022	75	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Meeting: Representatives of equity‑seeking groups	December 7, 2022	Unavailable	Presentation Consultation on the linguistic profile of supervisory positions Language training framework: preliminary consultations Survey Survey sent to members to identify barriers to language training faced by equity‑seeking groups (741 respondents)
British Columbia Federal Council Official Languages Committee	December 7, 2022	85	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
Quebec Federal Council Advisory Committee on Official Languages	January 12, 2023	76	Presentation Language training framework: preliminary consultations
2023 Best Practices Forum on Official Languages	February 6 to 10, 2023	Workshops (total): 671 TBS Official Languages Centre of Excellence workshop: 123 Talk: 1,199	Event keynote topic: Best Practices Forum on Official Languages: Changing the Narrative on Diversity, Inclusion and Official Languages
Orientation session for new Official Languages Champions	February 22, 2023	67	Presentations Official Languages 101 (Parts IV, V and V) Role of champions Role of TBS, Canadian Heritage and the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions A seasoned champion’s perspective
Human Resources Council special session	March 8, 2022	129	Presentations Language training framework (including the three short‑term orientation tools on language training) Survey Survey sent to members to gain a better understanding of the challenges related to second official language training and to get feedback on our three short‑term orientation tools
Virtual meeting of official languages communities of practice DACOL and CCACOL	March 29, 2023	161	Online SOLO training video Offices update: Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise Account activation in SOLO Review on Official Languages 2022–23 Language training framework: Update and next steps Active offer of services at Public Services and Procurement Canada
Human Resources Community engagement hub	March 29, 2023	61	Presentations Language training framework (including the three short‑term orientation tools on language training)
Meeting of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions	March 30, 2023	Unavailable	Verbal updates Official Languages Regulations Reapplication Exercise 2022–23 Reviews on Official Languages’ Annual Exercise
Note: TBS does not organize meetings of the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions.

Appendix F. Distribution of federal offices and service locations as of March 31, 2023

Footnotes

Footnote 1

This schedule was established to ensure compliance with the Act while reducing the reporting burden on federal institutions. However, 22 large institutions submit a review every year.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Active offer: A culture of respect, a culture of excellence.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Institute for Citizen-Centered Services and Angus Reid, Citizens First 2023, Government of Canada Jurisdictional Report. The survey was conducted by Angus Reid from June to August 2023 and included a total of 6,347 Canadian online and telephone respondents.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Incumbents in bilingual positions represent 31.3% of the workforce in supervisory positions.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

A total of 189,584 employees from 90 federal departments and agencies responded to the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey, a response rate of 53%.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Positive responses are “Strongly agree” and “Somewhat agree;” neutral responses are “Neither agree nor disagree;” and negative responses are “Somewhat disagree” and “Strongly disagree.” For the statement about senior management, positive responses are “Always/almost always” and “Often;” neutral responses are “Sometimes;” and negative responses are “Rarely” and “Never/almost never.” The calculation of the total number of positive and negative responses excludes the responses “Don’t know” and “Not applicable.”

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Page details

Date modified:: 2024-06-17

Annual Report on Official Languages 2022–23

On this page

Message from the President of the Treasury Board

Introduction

Chapter 1. Communications with and services to the public

1.1 Summary

Table 1 Notes

1.2 Oral and written communications

1.3 Active offer

1.4 Outreach and advertising

1.5 Contracts and agreements with third parties

1.6 Upholding the principle of substantive equality

1.7 Conclusion

Chapter 2. Language of work

2.1 Summary

2.2 Language of written communication

2.3 Language of meetings

2.4 Language of employee supervision

2.5 Personal and central services

2.6 Training and professional development

2.7 Communicating with staff

2.8 Documentation and working tools

2.9 Conclusion

Chapter 3. Federal institutions and the participation of English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians

3.1 Overall situation

3.2 Situation of specific groups

3.3 Conclusion

Chapter 4. Institutions and management of the official languages files

4.1 Summary

4.2 Human resources management

Table 3 Notes

4.3 Governance of official languages

4.4 Monitoring

Table 5 Notes

4.5 Conclusion

Chapter 5. Official languages and crisis situations

5.1 Institutional measures

Table 6 Notes

5.2 Leadership

5.3 Conclusion

Chapter 6. Official languages and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

6.1 Amended Act, new responsibilities

6.2 Expanding public access to federal services

6.3 Reinforcing bilingualism and equity, diversity and inclusion in the public service

6.4 Supporting the official languages community of practice

6.5 Conclusion

Conclusion of the report

Appendix A. Methodology for reporting on the status of official languages programs

Appendix B. Federal institutions required to submit a review for the 2022–23 fiscal year

Large institutions

Small institutions

Appendix C. Definitions

Appendix D. Statistical tables

Notes

Table D5 Notes

Table D7 Notes

Table D10 Notes

Table D12 Notes

Table D15 Notes

Table D17 Notes

Table D21 Notes

Appendix E. Information on events held by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat during the 2022–23 fiscal year

Appendix F. Distribution of federal offices and service locations as of March 31, 2023

Page details